1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to hairholder devices and, more particularly, to hairholder devices which include a main body casing and a non-elastic cord member which is tensioned so as to permit a lock of hair to be secured thereby for enabling a pony tail or the like.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
Conventional hairholder devices are presently available in a variety of configurations which bind hair to engender a pony tail or the like. However, no prior art device teaches a retractable non-elastic flexible cord member which is retained by a main body casing so as to deliver improved binding profiles as well as maintain the integrity of the hair itself. The following patents describe the present state of the art with reference to hairholding devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,241,130 to J. F. Leigh describes a copy-holder, which is the combination of a plate, a shelf hinged to the lower edge thereof and capable of two positions in one of which it extends forwardly substantially at a right angle to the plate and in the other of which it is substantially in the same plane with the plate, an arm extending rearwardly from the under side of the shelf, an upwardly extending pawl pivoted to said arm and located on the back of the plate, said plate being formed with a lug against which said pawl engages to hold the shelf in its right-angular position, a casing is secured to the back of the plate and inclosing the upper end of the pawl, and a spring is secured to the casing and bearing against the pawl to force the pawl into locking engagement with the lug, said pawl being formed with a finger-piece that extends below the pivot.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,241,337 to J. G. Breitenstein describes the combination of a grip device which comprises a cupped member, a flat member and connecting means by which they are secured together, with the flange of the cupped member engaging the surface of the flat member, but yieldingly separable therefrom, and a flexible tie formed in a loop outside of the grip device, with its two end portions entering said device through separate apertures therein and adapted to emerge in opposite directions respectively, between the edge of the cupped member and the face of the flat member, to be gripped thereby.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,141,245 to C. W. Gillespie describes a cup-shaped case member having a centrally located spring arbor, a reel member journaled on the arbor and having a peripheral cord channel and a central spring chamber, the wall of said reel member extending from the peripheral cord channel to the arbor being arranged parallel with and in proximity to the inner face of the cup-shaped case member whereby a spring chamber of maximum transverse dimensions is provided, a cord secured at one end in the cord channel of the reel member and extending peripherally through the case member, a convolute spring secured at one end to the central arbor and at the opposite end to the reel member, a cover plate closing the open side of the case member and open side of the reel member, said cover plate being centrally supported by the spring arbor against inward deflection, and a clamping nut which comprises a disk-like member having a convex inner face secured directly on the end of the arbor outside of the cover plate and forming with said cover plate an inwardly converging clamp in which the free end of the cord may be clamped and held.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,165,816 to E. J. Tichenor describes a cord holder, a casing, a spring controlled cord retaining spool which is rotatably mounted within said casing, a pin which is detachably carried by said casing, an enlarged head which is formed upon said pin, a spiral spring that is coiled about said head and that has its outer end extending above the outer end of said head for receiving between the outer convolutions thereof the end of said cord for holding it against the tension of the spring carried by said spool.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,000,384 to E. F. Piers, Jr. describes a fastener which comprises an elongated flexible tape which has on opposite faces thereof interengageable mating surfaces which include a first surface provided with a multiplicity of small outwardly projecting loops made of stiff filamentary material and a second surface having a multiplicity of curly filamentary members releasably interengageable with said loops, operative portions of said surfaces being displaced from one another longitudinally of the tape.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,084,699 to J. C. Gedid describes a brush roller assembly which comprises a brush roller and a separate jacket therefore, said jacket being adapted for interposition between said roller and the scalp of a wearer thereof, and consisting of a thin, resilient, stretchable flexible sheet having adjacent one end thereof a transversely extending, hair-receiving slit closed at both ends, said slit being unobstructed and adapted to permit the passage of a lock of hair directly therethrough without substantial crimping, said sheet having adjacent the other end thereof means for securing said other end to said roller whereby said jacket may be stretched under tension circumferentially around at least a substantial portion of said roller over a lock of hair rolled thereon to provide the sole means for holding said lock of hair and said roller in place.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,413,986 to D. A. Triangolo describes a hair ornament that is adapted to be placed on the head of a wearer and that is formed of a spring wire material, a plurality of ornamental articles being cast around the spring wire such that arcuate-shaped bores are formed therein, the spring wire having an arcuate conformation and being received in snug fitting relation within the arcuate ornaments such that rotation of the ornaments on the wire is prevented.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,430,303 to D. E. Perrin et al. describes a shoe lace coiler for piggy-back mounting upon a shoe which is disclosed for coiling and releasably holding the lace tightly drawn upon the shoe. The coiler comprises a coiling motor in the form of a spindle having a length several times its diameter and having a slot for receiving the lace ends in gripping relation, a housing journaling the rotor therein to define an annular lace storage chamber, the housing having a window for lace travel, and a winding control engageable with the rotor and the housing for turning the rotor in a lace take-up direction, the control including a rachet wheel rotatable with the rotor and selectively engageable with rachet teeth on the housing for holding the rotor against reverse rotation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,765 to Y. Takashima describes a hair binder which is for binding a bunch of long hair which includes an elastic hairband, a pair of frames joined at proximal ends thereof for opening and closing relative to each other, the frames forming a circle when closed, a first engaging structure disposed at distal ends of the pair of frames for engaging opposite ends of the band, and a second engaging structure disposed at the proximal ends for engaging intermediate positions of the band when the frames are opened, and releasing the intermediate positions when the frames are closed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,266 to L. R. Yeager et al. describes a security device which includes a locking member, a rachet member, and a plurality of cables. The cables extend through both a fastener and a base of the locking member and are wrapped around all six sides of a book or box-like structure. The fastener is releasably snap-fitted into the base and secured therein by a pair of metal tines. The rachet member includes a housing containing a gear and bearing member which are latched together in a spaced relationship to form a reel and a pawl. A bottom plate encloses the contents of the housing. The gear includes a multi-sided key hole, a plurality of openings to secure enlarged ends of the cables therein, and a plurality of teeth. The gear and bearing member each include an annular nub which sits in and rotates around a corresponding bearing surface of the bottom plate and housing, respectively. The pawl has a catch and a resilient spring and communicates with the gear to allow the rachet member to be turned only in one direction. Two specialized tools are required to tighten the device around the box-like structure and to remove the security device from the same.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,904 to S. C. Elsner describes a tie fastener which has an elastomeric cord formed into a loop by passing the terminal ends of the cord through a compression spring actuated cord lock. A stop bead positioned on the loop prevents the loop end of the elastomeric cord from inadvertently being removed from the cord lock. Pendant beads affixed to the terminal ends of the cord prevent the cord from inadvertently being pulled out of the cord lock.
Notwithstanding the prior art, the present invention is neither taught nor rendered obvious thereby.